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Scooter to be featured on Discovery Channel

Barry Lamperd will soon chase down a man on a three-wheeled electric scooter armed with a state-of-the-art, air-powered gun. And people in more than 100 countries will be watching.

Lamperd will test the latest technology from his Sarniabased company, Lamperd Less Lethal, on an upcoming episode of Guinea Pig. The Discovery Channel show, scheduled to be filmed in August, will show a brave couple bullied around by some of Lamperd's hi-tech munitions.

"This thing will hurt," Lamperd said, gesturing to the sleek, black gun mounted on the top of vehicle.

The gun is one of several modifications Lamperd is making to the U. S.-made machine, known as a T3. It's also the only one Lamperd can talk about.

"It's pretty sensitive stuff," he said.

He is adding the modifications for the U. S. army to use out-of-country for crowd control. He said he couldn't comment on where, specifically.

The pneumatic weapon is connected to a nitrogen tank tucked into the T3. It holds a 15-round magazine of synthetic bullets, which have no problem knocking someone to the ground, Lamperd said.

The weapon is intended for crowd control, but, he said, a shot to the head could be fatal.

"We teach police officers and the military that the sternum and below is the target area," he said.

And in order to guarantee the bullet hits the intended target, the gun is connected to a holographic sight system. An eyepiece shows a red target dot, and then transmits an image of the target to a monitor, which relays the information to the gun.

"Whatever the holographic sight is seeing, you can't miss with this," he said.

The weapon took a staff of three people six months to complete, he said, adding that the production cost is approximately $6,000.

He said there are police departments that use the T3 in Canada, including Peel Region and the force the St. John's, Nfld. However, none of them have any of the modifications.

Canadian police forces and army departments across the country do use a variety of Lamperd Less Lethal's munitions -- which include portable pepper spray tanks and a two-shot hand gun. Yet like many things, he could not elaborate on who uses what.

In light of the controversy surrounding the TASER, one of the few less-lethal weapons manufacturers in North America, he said many companies have become reluctant to discuss their use of the technologies.

He added that of all Lamperd's munitions are thoroughly tested.

"We've been doing this since 1969 . . . It all adds up over the years, the experi-ence," he said.